One of Manchester United's weakest squad areas is now their strongest after three transfers

One of Manchester United's weakest squad areas is now their strongest after three transfers

One area of the squad has been repeatedly addressed by Man United in recent transfer windows but will not be this year.

De Ligt and Heaven signed for United within the last year

One area of the Manchester United squad that almost certainly will not be addressed this summer is central defence.

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United have signed at least one centre back in seven of the past nine summer transfer windows. Three came in last season alone.

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After Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt joined in the summer, Ayden Heaven followed in the winter. In between, the one-year extension in Harry Maguire's contract was triggered.

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Once Lisandro Martinez has recovered from his anterior cruciate ligament injury, United will have five specialist centre halves with an average age of 24. Two are homegrown and three from overseas.

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It is a promising blend of youth (two teenagers), experience and athleticism. Maguire is the only 30-something and all five are ball-playing centre backs.

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"I think if you really analyse our games, it's not that static," De Ligt said. "It's in a way that we are always defending in a three, always in a four. I think in the build-up, all the European teams, the big European teams play with a three in the back. They switch the midfielder in the back or a full-back who comes back. So it's always in a three."

Maguire, De Ligt, Martinez and Yoro also tallied a creditable nine goals between them. Heaven got on the scoresheet with a well-placed header in the post-season friendly win in Hong Kong.

Yoro, at 19, was billed as a coup when United beat Real Madrid to him last year and he started to show his class during last season's run-in. After an unconvincing first six months, De Ligt found form before his ill-timed injury.

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"We must remind ourselves he is really young," Maguire cautioned on Yoro last year. "There are going to be mistakes but he has every attribute of a centre back in the modern game, he has it. So I’m sure he’s going to have a bright future.

"It’s our job as senior centre backs, my job, to help him along, communicate well, let him know what to expect. There are going to be times where I’m sure he’ll feel the world is on top of him, there are also going to be times where he’s going to feel like the best player in the world. And that’s what this club brings."

De Ligt and Yoro arrived last year

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Heaven has been a revelation and got better with every performance until he too hurt himself at Leicester City in March. At the turn of the year, Martinez turned a corner and was influential in January prior to his season-shattering injury against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

Now into his sixth year at United, Maguire can fairly be regarded as one of the more respectable recruits of the post-Ferguson era at United. His first season was good, second decent, third a disaster and fourth worse, yet he has recovered commendably with impressive back-to-back campaigns. He has become a United captain without the armband.

Maguire is a more authentic talker now he does not have that elastic wrapped around his bicep. The captaincy was so overwhelming at times that it doubled for a blood pressure cuff strapped to him.

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United wanted to sell Maguire two years ago

Like his fellow Yorkshireman Joe Root, Maguire has found a new lease of life taking a step back as the team's official leader. Root is the number two Test batsman in the world three years after stepping down as captain. Maguire will be aiming to earn a new United contract next year.

The defensive quintet available to Ruben Amorim is a far cry from Jose Mourinho's final months at United in 2018 after Ed Woodward denied him a central defensive signing. Mourinho was responsible for the arrivals of Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof but inherited Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.

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When Mourinho telephoned Bailly, the defender thought it was someone playing a joke. Bailly's appearance average at United - fewer than 20 games a season - was a joke.

It was no surprise to hear that Lindelof was one of three United players that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains in contact with (Maguire and Bruno Fernandes were the other two). Lindelof benefited from Solskjaer's Scandinavian solidarity and had long outstayed his welcome before he was released last month.

Lindelof spent eight years at United

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The caveat with United's current five defenders is they all had significant injury lay-offs last season. Yoro was on crutches after his second appearance in pre-season and had to wait more than four months to make his competitive debut.

De Ligt's final two months of the season were practically wiped out, Heaven missed two months, Maguire was sidelined for around three months of the campaign and Martinez has suffered agonising injuries in each of his three seasons in Manchester.

It was only 15 months ago that Casemiro was parachuted in at centre back for the FA Cup semi-final after Willy Kambwala (remember him?) broke down again. With Kambwala, Martinez, Lindelof, Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans all on the treatment table, the only centre back United had on the bench against Coventry City at Wembley was Louis Jackson.

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Given United operate in a back three, five centre backs with recent injury issues is a potential risk. The risk is offset by Noussair Mazraoui and Luke Shaw, both experienced at playing at centre half and unlikely to be used on the wing.

If need be, Casemiro has played in defence. Tyler Fredricson has received a squad number upgrade as well. That is nine options across nine months with a reduced workload due to the absence of European football.

Expect a summer more like 2018 or 2020.

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